ATHENS, Greece -- American Sada Jacobson was given the top seed in the Olympic women's saber fencing competition on Thursday, leading to a possible showdown with her sister, Emily, in the quarterfinals.

Jacobson, ranked No. 1 in the world, earned a first-round bye in the 24-woman draw while her sister, Emily Jacobson was given the No. 9 seed and will face Hong Kong's Chow Tsz Ki in the first round on Tuesday.

The sisters from Dunwoody, Ga., were joined in the top 10 by Mariel Zagunis, of Beaverton, Ore., the No. 3 seed.

Women's saber is being competed at the Olympics for the first time. Last year, Sada Jacobson became the first American woman to earn the world's top ranking and the first U.S. fencer of either sex to claim the title of overall World Cup champion.

In men's saber, Vladimir Lukashenko of Ukraine was given the No. 1 seed, while four-time gold medalist Russian Stanislav Pozdniakov was seeded No. 2.

American Ivan Lee was given the No. 15 seed. Keeth Smart, who last year became the first American fencer to earn the world's No. 1 ranking, was seeded at No. 22. Jason Rogers rounded out the U.S. men's saber contingent at No. 25. Lee and Smart are from New York, and Rogers is from Los Angeles.

The top 25 fencers in the men's saber draw earned byes.

Switzerland's Marcel Fischer was seeded No. 1 in men's epee. Seth Kelsey (Brush Prairie, Wash.) was the top American at No. 7. Soren Thompson (San Diego) was seeded 15th and Cody Mattern (Tigard, Ore.) 17th.

In women's epee, France's Laura Flessel-Colovic and Maureen Nisima were seeded No. 1 and No. 2. Kamara James of New York was No. 24.

Italy's Valentina Vezzali, the reigning gold medalist from the 2000 Games, was seeded No. 2 in women's foil, behind countrywoman Giovanna Trillini, who won the bronze in Sydney. American Erinn Smart, Keeth's sister, was seeded No. 15 and could face Vezzali in the second round.

In men's foil, Italians Andrea Cassara, Salvatore Sanzo, and Simone Vanni earned the top three seeds. Dan Kellner (Warren, N.J.) was seeded 26th. Jed Dupree (New York) and Jon Tiomkin (Hewlett, N.Y.) were seeded No. 30 and No. 31.

American Jacobson seeded No. 1 in women's saber draw